Around 20 minutes into Saturday’s game, I was fearing the first. And going off the comments of fans close by to me, I wasn’t the only one. Leyton Orient were getting so much joy in midfield, carving through our press at ease and dominating the ball.
However, a third goal in three for Jack Marriott got us ahead against the run of play, and despite more Orient pressure and an equaliser, Liam Fraser popped up with the winner: a much-needed goal for the team and, more notably, for Noel Hunt.
It’s a tough
game to summarise in all honesty, but as ever, you Loyal Royals gave it a good crack…
A good win, but a dodgy performance
It felt like the Port Vale game all over again for me: unconvincing, ugly, but we managed to find a way to win.
There are still familiar problems that seem to be showing in every game, which is a big concern, but we ended the afternoon three points better off than we started it.
For some fans a win was enough to have them go home happy, but for others the cracks are too big to paper over…
Impact from the bench
Hunt is getting a fair bit of heat at the moment, so it’s only fair we praise him when he gets things right – which he did with his triple substitution and tactical tweak on Saturday.
Matt Ritchie, Kamari Doyle and Andre Garcia came on, the team moved into a 4-2-3-1 and it was the first two – particularly Ritchie – that really made a difference.
Why on earth Doyle started the afternoon on the bench in the first place is baffling, but he made his mark when he entered the fray and Ritchie showed every ounce of leadership he has to help get us over the line…
Jack Marriott
Watching us play football over the last few weeks has been tough at times, that’s for sure, but Marriott has been a shining light in every game he’s played in so far.
He got on the scoresheet yet again against Orient, and it’s such a reassuring feeling having a striker who knows exactly where the net is. The wider performance needs work, but Marriott is showing that if he’s fed regularly, he’ll score goals.
The fans have been more than impressed with his start in a Reading shirt…
Conclusion
Personally, I’m not going to be hugely optimistic until I see signs that issues are being fixed and I’m confident we’re playing in a way that will pick points up regularly. That’s just not the case at the moment.
Let’s be honest, if Orient showed a bit more composure and ruthlessness in the final third, the game could’ve been over by the time Joel Pereira took his customary sit-down halfway through the first 45.
The issues are clear and obvious, but they’re not being fixed.
